Roberto Vannacci is ready to leave the League. According to reports from Northern League sources, the MEP and party deputy secretary could make the announcement as early as today.
The shadow of a new party has been weighing on the center-right and the League for days, and today it threatens to explode during the party leadership meeting in Milan for the federal council. The priorities are the security package and the pro-remigration demonstration on April 18th. This is a topic close to Vannacci's heart, but he won't be there tonight: "I'm in Brussels, maybe I'll check in." Despite his absence, the general continues to make waves.
The latest duel is with the think tank Nazione Futura, which has filed a formal objection with the European Patent Office to block the application for the trademark "Futuro Nazionale." A response is expected within three months. Vannacci's response, inspired by the fascist motto, is in keeping with the sentiment: "I don't care," the MEP responded on social media. Conservatives offer him a cup of chamomile tea to calm him down. They accuse him of playing "the left's game" by attacking the Northern League and the coalition from within. This undermines the rapport that had developed between the two a few years ago . "His book had just been published, and on September 14, 2023, we invited him to Rome; it was the first national presentation," recalls Francesco Giubilei, who heads the association. Further exchanges and meetings followed, until the split over the symbol.
The two logos share the same colors: a blue background and the Italian flag on a wing-like shape, which is more stylized for Vannacci and more linear for the Conservatives. And the names, which appear to be reversed. For the Nazione Futura board, Vannacci's logo can "generate confusion among the public, especially if the symbols are identical or highly similar and cover overlapping areas of activity."
Hence the call for a halt. For the Northern League member, it's "a silly and baseless symbolic diatribe" aimed at boosting conservative membership. He concludes provocatively with, "Fear is a force to be reckoned with!" The same slogan Vannacci uses to deny alleged flirtations with disillusioned members of the Five Star Movement, who are worried—according to a reconstruction by the newspaper Il Giornale—about losing their seats in the next general election. "Only Ilaria Salis, Mimmo Lucano, and Sumahoro are missing. After Renzi, now the Five Star Movement is too."
(Unioneonline/D)
